[Private RP] Through the wreckage

((This is a private RP for myself and Saerwen))

Ryan stood at the end of the Auberdine dock with Thundris Windweaver and several other night elves. "Ande'thoras-ethil Thundris." Ryan said with a short bow and made his way down the dock where an Alliance clipper waited to take him directly back to Stormwind. It was a calm, beautiful day but unfortunately filled with closed door meetings for him. Securing important trade routes wasn't something to be done in public though. Something had been bothering him all day but he dismissed it as needless paranoia from the events early in the month in Stormwind.

Halfway down the dock fire erupted in the distance. An overwhelming sense a fear consumed Ryan like never before. "What in the...." A gigantic figure rose from within the fire and wings larger than any he had seen before flapped and propelled the dragon towards Auberdine. "Xaxas..." Ryan's mouth barely formed the word as an echoing roar shook the foundations of the dock. He only had time to react. He tore off his cloak, reveling an athletic body covered black and brown hardened leather armor. With a scroll for the trade routes in hand he strapped it quickly on his belt along side daggers, pouches, and a few books. He bounded towards the south side of the dock and within three steps dove into the ocean.

Fire and an oppressive presence washed over his back for a moment before he was fully underwater. He swam down a few meters before looking back. Everything seemed on fire above the water. The dock was torn and to his right large sections were already sinking into the ocean. He made his way to one of the few outcroppings that littered the shoreline. Above the water he was able to catch his breath and take in the full scope of what just happened. The whole town was burning and the earth was shattered. His ship and all others were rolled over, on fire or both.

Listening though he heard nothing but fire cracking and the occasional breaking of wood. No shouts, no moans, nothing living. It would be pointless to wander though the town. He slipped off the rock and swam to shore. He stood still and tried to calm himself. Only just now did he realize how bad he was shaking. Ryan did what he normally did and started to review vowels and constants of three different languages in an alternating pattern. In a few minutes he was back to normal, albeit adrenaline still pumping hard in his veins.

It had been a long day. Lectures, lectures, lectures. Learn learn learn. It felt like everything just went so much slower than it ought to. It had already taken her plenty of years of teachings, yet she was still considered close to being a child. How unfair, how unfair! Carnadhiel had met humans that were younger than herself, yet considered adults. They were travelling to participate in the war at Warsong, or headed to the docks to catch a ride to Northrend. How unfair! Carna wanted to see the world too, she longed to go travel. Too young, too inexperienced. Unfair!

Carnadhiel had been at a gathering near the Grove of the Ancients, before she started heading home. In the forests she had found a relatively minor stag. It sorta went against her teachings, but for some reason Carnadhiel decided that stag was on for dinenr tonight. Stretching out the bow as far as her strenght allowed, she had taken down the stag with a precise arrow to the neck, killing it immediately. Tying it to a branch she now carried the branch and dead animal over her back, carrying it alongside the road towards the ocean, towards her home.

Then the ground started shaking viciously, making her legs tremble underneath her. Instinctively, Carna dropped her prey and started sprinting forwards. As the ground cracked open and the trees showed their roots, a few of them toppled over. A few of the branches grazed her as she kept running, barely avoiding being crushed. The lands had started quaking terribly, the earth itself screaming in pain and agony, the elements enraging, claiming everything in their boundless fury. Panic, panic! Trying to run towards the ocean, but not knowing where to go. The forest didn't look the same as usual. Nothing looked the same as usual. Every time the earth rumbled, she was almost knocked off of her feet. Tears were running down her cheeks, her heart racing to keep up with the adrenaline. Fear, fear, run!
By sheer coincidence, Carna's direction happened to be correct. In the distance she could start seeing the vegetation lessen. Through the leaves, Carna could see their house.. a moment of relief.. As she got closer, a massive crack split the trees and home into a thousand bits. A Night Elf body was tossed into the air as a ragged doll, causing everything to stop for Carna. Just looking, Carna couldn't even identify who had gone flying.. was it someone she knew..? The quakes got worse. The world was comming asunder?! Water was rising, it seemed as if it would swallow everything. Carna had to find her family and get them out of the sinking wreckage, she HAD to.
As she got closer, a massive chunk of earth underneath her feet toppled over, tossing her into the air and against a piece of wood from the house. Everything went black before her eyes, as she barely remained concious.. Carna felt the soft sensation sand against her skin, and shortly after of water.. yet her body refused to act the way she wanted it to.. it all became clear in an instant. The water was rising, and she would be drowning if she didn't get out of the water.
With vision blurry, she struggled in a desperate attempt to get herself up in a safe height, but to no avail.. Just as she considered all hope lost, the top of their dining table landed almost right in front of her. Climbing onto it, her last resources went dry and she blacked out. The only question that remained was, if the table would be able to float...

A splash? The natural order had been thrown into chaos around him but still this splashing sounded alive. Ryan made his way back towards the town but it didn't take long to stop the night elf. He looked back and forth but she was the only one he could make out. So many things went through his head all more important than the last but with no resources and a sinking feeling that this was happening all over Azeroth no help would be coming soon. Ryan needed to make his way to a friendly outpost and hope they had some form of travel available, but he couldn't just leave her.

He waded out to her and placed a hand on the bottom side of the broken piece of table she was laying on to keep it steady. He looked over her before deciding it was safe to move her to shore. Cuts, bruises and a few burns. Nothing seemed broken, but he couldn't know for sure until she awoke. "Elune-Adore," Ryan whispered as he pushed her towards the shore. Usually just a greeting, but it seemed even more fitting at this moment as a prayer. He kept close to the shore but moved around the burning town towards the north. Moonglade seemed the best place to head too.

Fatigue was setting in though. He reached a broken part of the shore and pulled the makeshift raft onto the sand so she wouldn't float away. The town was still just in view but everything was starting to calm down, at least in this part of the forest. He picked up a bunch of broken branches and leaves and made a small leanto tent. Not exactly water proof but should help keep off the heat of the day.

Ryan returned to the night elf after laying a few protective traps around the tent. He slowly rolled her over to examine her further. He grabbed a pouch off his belt. Pathetic... he wasn't expecting...well anything like this. The few vials and bandages he had would have to make due for now though. He wrapped her cuts up as best he could and applied a few healing salves over her burns. It wasn't enough to cover them all but hopefully it would do for now. He dragged her slowly out of the water and up to the edge of the forest and laid her under the tent.

He needed to find more herbs but his arms and legs were aching and the adrenaline was almost out of his system. Ryan sat down and leaned against a tree only a few feet away.

It was obvious by her size alone, that she wasn't that old amongst Nightelves. The leather armor she was wearing had also seen its wear by the rough treatment it had been given this day, and likely from other battles too. Coughing mildly, Carna blinked a few times. It seemed she was slowly comming to, until she with a blast gained focus, sat up and started to look around wildly, panicked, clearly searching to find out where she was, and where her family could be. In her eyes it'd almost be possible to see her heart shattering as she caught glimpse of the sinking wreckage. Pushing herself up on her hands, it would almost seem like a drunkard trying to get up, as her exhausted arms gave in and let her slump onto the ground again. Laying there, with her head lining up against the ground, she happened to be looking directly at Ryan..

A short whisper left her lips before she closed her eyes shut and started crying innerly. "Xaxas... Xaxas dalah dieb!

Ryan moved closer to the, now crying, night elf. <"Calm down. It's going to be alright."> Mostly a lie. He barely knew anything about the young woman but reassuring words always seemed to help others. <"Listen you have been hurt so I need you to keep still. We can look for your family after you get better. But for now can you tell me where you hurt the most?">

Carna's head was pounding. The headache from the brunt hit earlier caused everything to make a whole lot less sense than they should. Hearing Darnassian, Carna actually thought that Ryan was one of her own kind. Continuing to ramble in Darnassian it would be quite hard to actually gather together a meaning in all of her nonsense. The chock was clear. For the first time in her life had Carna experienced a catastrophe up close. It burnt in her entire being."We've been punished.. but why?.. Were we not faithful?.. Elune help us. My head is comming apart, like the sundered earth."

Fluent was one thing but Ryan was never able to keep up with a real native speaker when they got going. He wasn't even sure some of the words she was using were even words at all but he got what he needed out of he rambling. <"It's going to be alright. Just calm down."> It was a real possibility her skull was fractured but the fact that she could recognized her own language and still had a good measure of motor control was a good sign it wasn't too bad. Ryan placed his hand on her head to try and calm her down but to also check her temperature. With his other he grabbed a vial about the size of his middle finger filled with a red potion. It wasn't designed like others to heal certain problems but even as a general pain killer should ease her pain a good bit. <"Drink this and then I need you to rest. I know there is much you need to know but right now you need to get better. You are safe now.">

Coughing, clearly from pain and exhaustion, Carna reached out for the potion. Drinking it rather fast, she coughed a bit again. Leaning back and closing her eyes, it didn't take many seconds before she was asleep again. Carna's hair was gently being toyed with by the wind, as the sound of the ocean in the background seemed to create a setting of peace and calm. Even so, the elements were still raging and the lands were still moving. Who knew how long this storm would be claiming lives..?
...Carna seemed to sleep peacefully though. Dreamless.. Everything had gone silent now, almost as if they were in the eye of the storm..

What to do.... to many ideas ran through his head. Ryan prepared several escape routes for this particular mission, not that he thought he would need them but that's just how his mind worked. Unfortunately none of them involved this madness. Still the only logical place seemed to be Moonglade but for now that would have to wait. He made sure his cloak covered the young night elf and then covered himself in a bit of brush. Perhaps this was a localized event. Darnassus might be here soon. The thought didn't ease his mind but he slipped into a restless sleep anyways. The wind whipping unnaturally over the distant ruined village.

A few hours past with relative ease. The young night elf's condition didn't seem to get much better but it wasn't getting worst. Nightfall was almost complete when the trouble started. Ryan woke with a start as the wind made a sudden change. He move into the shadows of the woods they camped by, blending into the trees. A small elemental made of wind was nearing them. He noticed the cracks already in it's bindings, and then glanced towards the town. They all seemed rushed, violently ripped from their plane into this one. It wasn't just gone. It was overrun. Gone into chaos as wind elementals ran uncontrollably through the wreckage. The elemental was passing to close them for Ryan's liking. He pulled out a tiny flash bomb, snapped the fuse and threw it just behind the roaming elemental. It turned with a start and unleashed a fearsome gust of wind, blowing up sand, driftwood and seaweed. Ryan darted quickly behind it, drew his daggers and twisted around it's swirling base and stuck one of it's bindings in a pincer. It shattered and fell to the ground, disintegrating and the elemental along with it.

It's not safe anymore. Chances are a rescue party wouldn't even come to shore with the chaos going on. Ryan thought for a moment as his body ached reminding him heavily of the day he already had. I wouldn't. And these traps would barely slow a beast. Looking at his work. He didn't like being this far removed from.....everything. He took a few moments and re-purposed the shelter into a stretcher. He carefully moved her onto it and began moving up the beach. About an hour of pulling her along he found a suitable campsite. A small grove of trees formed a good barrier between them and the ruins of Auberdine. He set the camp back up and risked a small fire. Cold was setting in. He cut a few large leafs off nearby shrubs, but not enough to hurt them. He tied them by the stems and laid them over the night elf.

He sat down and leaned against a tree and allowed himself to rest again.

It had gotten dark now. The cold chill of the night made the young Nightelf's body shiver, goosebumps appearing on her skin. The shivering shortly after woke her up. Blinking a couple of times, the headache seemed to have disappeared. The only indication remaining that she had been hit was a purple mark just over her eye. Carnadhiel had been lucky that the impact wasn't' an inch lower. Gently brushing her hands against her head, she let out a soft moan of displeasure, only just now realising that she was laying on a stretcher in the middle of nowhere. The young elf's eyes had still not gotten accustomed to the dark, so she could only see the campfire and the outline of a figure. Carna's clothings were still soaked, and she was cooling down pretty fast. Instinctively she sat up and got closer to the fire, stretching out her arms towards it to get warmed up..

"...Were you the one who saved me?" Carna asked in a calm tone, speaking into the fire. For some reason she did not allow herself to look at the stranger. The fact that they had not yet met anyone else could mean all sorts of things. Trying not to think or worry herself with anything, the only focus point she kept was the fire.. The wind was raging, the earth was roaring. Before long a storm would be upon them, she could feel it. Lightning from the skies, a downpour. They'd have to find appropriate shelter, but she had no idea of where they were. "..What happened here?" Biting a piece off of her cloth robe, she gently dubbed the fabric against her head, gritting her teeth doing so. Slowly everything came back to her. The images of running, the earth.. the log to her head, and almost drowning. Now Carna raised her head to look at him, an underlying concern apparent on her face. "..My family?"

Ryan opened his eyes slower than before as the young elf sat up and moved closer to the fire. <"I was."> He sat up straighter and looked hard at her face. Motor skills seemed better. He concluded that a few more days of rest and she would be completely fine, at least for now. He reached in a bag beneath his cloak and pulled out the last vial of pain killer he had and held it out for her. <"A dragon attack. Unlike any other I have seen before, and I've seen a lot."> He paused for a moment. Trying to pick the best words but for things like this there weren't ever any good ones. However he firmly believed anything was better than false hope. <"If they were in the town.....I'm sorry but I don't believe anyone could of survived that.">

A dragon with the power to cause all this destruction..? Unheard of, absolutely unheard of. Carna had heard stories of the Dragons' might through the old legends of the war of the ancients. Could it have been Neltharion, the self-proclaimed aspect of Death..? Carnadhiel's expression however did not change. It seemed as if she was lost in thought, recalling images of what had happened. The fire in the distance, the rumbling and cracking earth, the howling winds. It had felt like the end of the world, yet now a calm had emerged. Wheter this should be labeled as a second chance, a new beginning, or the beginning of the end seemed still uncertain."I see..
The message of the entire annihilation of her family didn't seem to shock her. It was almost as if it had hit a rock wall, and just bounced right off. The fire was shining in her eyes, as she slowly seemed to make out Ryan's figure from the darkness.. he was no nightelf. He was human."Who are you..?"

Ryan had come here under a false name for certain reasons, but given all that happened. <"Ryan Tate."> Automatically he weighted the information he knew about her and the risk of her knowing his role in the Grand Alliance. He felt no ill-will and didn't have the slightest suspicion about her, but it just became a natural reaction for him. He put on a comforting smile,<"I'm an agent for SI:7. An organization within the Alliance. A friend. What may I call you?">

Bending her head forward, she seemed steady, although unsteady at the same time. It was as if her upper body was moving alongside the wind, while her feet remained solid in the ground. "Ryan.. Tate. I've never heard of the SI:7. What are they?"
It wasn't exactly curiosity or good will that made Carnadhiel ask these questions. It was simply a way to pass time, and get to know a little of the one that had saved her. Besides, what harm could some talking do..?"I'm Carnadhiel... Carnadhiel Dusksinger. "

Ryan leaned back again. <"Well we are a group of thieves to put it simply. We work in tandem with the Alliance army, and on more than a few occasions your own Sentinels."> He was clearly tired but she seemed to need something to focus on. <"It's more a of an outside the box kind of job, all very hushed."> Ryan looked to the skies. Everything just seemed broken. They needed to move soon. <"But that's not too important for now. Tell me Carnadhiel, how are you feeling?">